New Pond

[Jess]

Hey,

So, we've never had a pond before but my mum decided she wanted one... Guess who had to dig it? So rude!!lol

Anyway, we bought two little goldfish things and they're currently in a tank... We wanted them to adjust slowly! lol

I just thought id post a couple of pictures and see if anyone has any ideas/suggestions/comments as i know nothing about ponds!!lol

Jess


Ok... So this is the pond as of this afternoon, it should be finished tomorrow Its about 5ft x 4ft and the bit in the middle is just over 2ft deep and about 2ft square i guess... if that helps! lol

 

[Jess]

and here's the two little guys we bought today...
Sorry its such a bad pic...lol

 

[bribones]

looking at your pic(looking good) top right corner looks an ideal place for a waterfall feature fed from the pump or filter

sorry bout the edits but had to have another look lol

id go for larger boulders/stones round the edge to deter preditors cats etc and some planting for shade/evergreens etc as the pond looks quite exposed

a few pond plants round the margins and bobs your uncle

how deep is it round the edges ? just asking as winter etc you may require some type of heater 5x4 is an average size but be carefull of the fish you choose as koi and similar fish will soon outgrow it

 

[Jess]

Hey

The stones round the edge are just to hold the lining - we'd just filled it up when i took that pic! We're probably going to have a little brick wall type thing around it at some point, so we'll probably just put a load of bricks around it for the moment

We're having shrubs and ferns around it so it shouldn't look quite so exposed in a couple of weeks! I shall post more pics as we're doing it!

Any suggestions on plants? The left side would be in shade most of the day but the right side would have sunlight all day if that makes any difference

Thanks for the reply!

 

[bribones]

i have evergreens like varigated privit which is quite low growing and bushy,ferns are good but will die off during the winter erm i have these as well see pic but cant recall the name


pic is of my old pond but i transferd the plants to the new one

 

[Jess]

Ooh, nice pond!

The one ive just dug is at the side of the garden... its kind of hard to explain but my mum wants wild flowers and stuff round it so it needs to still look natural... i was thinking of grasses and things like that, would they work?

Im probably being really difficult here...lol Can you tell i know nothing!?

Will those fish be ok by the way? The guy at the shop said they should but you can never be too sure can you? lol

Jess

 

[bribones]

m probably being really difficult here...lol Can you tell i know nothing!

we all started somewhere and the whole point of the forum is to learn and share

grasses would be good though personaly id go for ornamental types if you imagine steps try to have one end planted fairly high then step down so as you look at the pond the plants gain height as you get further away

 

[Jess]

Oooh, thats a good idea!! Ill try that!! We're going round some garden centres etc to look for pond stuff so when i get those in and the fish sorted ill post more pics!

Thanks for the help!!

Jess

 

[Paul_MTS]

to go with the natural look you should make a waterfall going down one side with bouders around it, you can make it's route out of left over liner if you have any or use concrete.

using large stones will give a natural effect aorund the edge.

goldfish will be fine in that size pond, you could add a few more aswell probable.

 

[corrosive]

If you get some of my fry, i will give you a load of easy growing plant which the fry have in there 4ft tank.

 

[Jess]

Ok... Its all gone wrong...


Anyone in England (South at least) may have noticed the enormous amount of rain we've had the last week or so... You can tell where this is going cant you? lol

Yes, we hadn't finished the edging around the pond (hadn't made it high enough) so the contents, including fish, ended up all over my garden... lol Luckily we managed to get all of the fish back somehow!! And have re-done the pond, in a higher place this time, thought that might be smart!!!lol

So, anyone got any suggestions on how to keep the fish in the pond? lol

I dont do ponds - just aquariums, and im expected to know EVERYTHING!!! How rude!

Anyway, just thought id share my interesting few days with you guys - Help me!!! lol

Jess

 

[bribones]

have you left any spare liner round the edges,if so build a low wall and bring the liner up over the top of it then add a further 2 courses leaving gaps to allow for drainage,also try to improve the drainage in the area around the pond creating run offs for rain water,you could use railway sleepers instead of a wall

 

[Jess]

We have left plenty of liner round the edges!

Railway sleepers sound like a good idea, can get hold of those pretty easily to, might see what my mum sawy about those, thanks!

Unfortunately my garden is lower than the land on either so when it rains we kinda get really flooded, would it work to try and make the area surrounding the pond a lot higher? I know nothing about ponds and stuff!lol We had tried to build the wall around the pond fairly high but it obviously wasn't hight enough! May have o relocate pond into front garden which is a lot higher and isn't clay!

Jess